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Public health protection from air pollution can be achieved more effectively by shifting from a single-pollutant approach to a multi-pollutant approach. To develop such multi-pollutant approaches, identifying which air pollutants are present most frequently is essential. This study aims to determine the frequently found carcinogenic air toxics or hazardous air pollutants (HAPs) combinations across the United States as well as to analyze the health impacts of developing cancer due to exposure to these HAPs. To identify the most commonly found carcinogenic air toxics combinations, we first identified HAPs with cancer risk greater than one in a million in more than 5% of the census tracts across the United States, based on the National-Scale Air Toxics Assessment (NATA) by the U.S. EPA for year 2005. We then calculated the frequencies of their two-component (binary), and three-component (ternary) combinations. To quantify the cancer-related health impacts, we focused on the 10 most frequently found HAPs with national average cancer risk greater than one in a million. Their cancer-related health impacts were calculated by converting lifetime cancer risk reported in NATA 2005 to years of healthy life lost or Disability-Adjusted Life Years (DALYs). We found that the most frequently found air toxics with cancer risk greater than one in a million are formaldehyde, carbon tetrachloride, acetaldehyde, and benzene. The most frequently occurring binary pairs and ternary mixtures are the various combinations of these four air toxics. Analysis of urban and rural HAPs did not reveal significant differences in the top combinations of these chemicals. The cumulative annual cancer-related health impacts of inhaling the top 10 carcinogenic air toxics included was about 1,600 DALYs in the United States or 0.6 DALYs per 100,000 people. Formaldehyde and benzene together contribute nearly 60 percent of the total cancer-related health impacts. Our study shows that although there are many carcinogenic air toxics, only a few of them affect public health significantly at the national level in the United States, based on the frequency of occurrence of air toxics mixtures and cancer-related public health impacts. Future research is needed on their joint toxicity and cumulative health impacts.

The mission of the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) is to serve the public by using the best science, taking responsive public health actions, and providing trusted health information to prevent harmful exposures and disease r...

Michigan. Department of Community Health,. United States. Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry. Division of Community Health Investigations..

Published:

September 30, 2014

Series:

Public health assessment ; Final release

Description:

Evaluation of inhalation of airborne stampsands in the Torch Lake Superfund site and surrounding area Houghton and Keweenaw Counties, Michigan, : EPA FACILITY ID: MID980901946; prepared by: Michigan Department of Community Health under a cooperative ...

United States, Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry.. Research Triangle Institute.

Published:

September 1999

Series:

TP (Series) (Atlanta, Ga.)

Description:

Prepared by Research Triangle Institute under Contract No. 205-93-0606 to the U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services, Public Health Service, Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry. : Includes bibliographical references (p. 201-223).